Early childhood education and childcare.

(1) Existing law, the Child Care and Developmental Services Act, administered by the State Department of Social Services, establishes a system of childcare and development services for children up to 13 years of age. Existing law authorizes, upon departmental approval, the use of appropriated funds for alternative payment programs to allow for maximum parental choice. Existing law authorizes those programs to include, among other things, a subsidy that follows the family from one provider to another, or choices among hours of service. Under existing law, effective July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026, reimbursement of state-subsidized childcare and development providers and license-exempt providers is to be based on the maximum authorized hours of care, as specified. Existing law, the Early Education Act, requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to provide an inclusive and cost-effective preschool program. Under existing law, commencing January 1, 2023, through June 30, 2026, reimbursement of California state preschool family childcare home education network providers is to be based on the maximum certified hours of care, as specified. This bill would extend the period in which reimbursement of state-subsidized childcare and development providers, license-exempt providers, and California state preschool family childcare home education network providers is based on the maximum authorized or certified, as applicable, hours of care to July 1, 2028. (2) Existing law allocates certain appropriated funds to the State Department of Social Services and the State Department of Education to provide specified family childcare providers and childcare centers with a monthly cost of care plus rate commencing January 1, 2024, and through June 30, 2026. The monthly cost of care plus rate is a supplemental monthly payment to those providers and centers. Existing law establishes the base amount of the monthly cost of care plus rate and, for the period from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026, provides for an increase to that base amount. This bill would extend the payment of the monthly cost of care plus rate, including the increase, indefinitely, for those family childcare providers and childcare centers. The bill would additionally establish a one-time payment to family daycare providers for the total amount of the increase for each month or partial month occurring between July 1, 2025, and December 30, 2025. The bill would require the payment to be paid to providers by January 1, 2026, contingent on full ratification by September 30, 2025, of the tentative agreement received between the State of California and the Child Care Providers United - California (CCPU) on August 7, 2025. The bill would specify that, if full ratification of the tentative agreement is not achieved by September 30, 2025, the January 1, 2026, deadline for the payment would not be applicable; however, the bill would require, if the payment is not made by January 1, 2026, that providers receive an increase to the one-time payment, as specified. The bill would also require those family daycare providers and childcare centers to receive a one-time, per-child stabilization payment. That payment would be $431 for licensed family childcare providers and childcare centers and $300 for license-exempt family childcare providers. The bill would require, if the tentative agreement described above is ratified by September 30, 2025, this one-time payment to be made to family childcare providers by January 1, 2026. This bill would appropriate $157,852,000 from the General Fund to the State Department of Social Services for the purpose of making those one-time stabilization payments to family childcare providers and childcare centers, as specified. The bill would also approve the agreement dated August 7, 2025, entered into by the Governor and Child Care Providers United - California, in its sole capacity as the certified provider organization representing family childcare providers, as specified. (3) Existing law establishes, and appropriates funds to, the Joint Child Care Providers United - State of California Training Partnership Fund and the Child Care Providers United - California (CCPU) Workers Health Care Fund. Existing law also appropriates funds to the State Department of Social Services for a one-time contribution payable to Child Care Providers United - California (CCPU) , or its designee, for the establishment of the CCPU Retirement Trust. This bill would, for each year of the tentative agreement described above, from July 1, 2025, to July 1, 2028, inclusive, require funds to be allocated in the annual Budget Act, upon approval of the Department of Finance, to those funds and trust. (4) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.